


Understanding A Liar

by Closeted_Fujoshi



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Based off in game events, M/M, Oma Kokichi Being Oma Kokichi, Oma Kokichi Is a Little Shit, POV Saihara Shuichi, i love them, idek why, this is also on my wattpad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27458470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closeted_Fujoshi/pseuds/Closeted_Fujoshi
Summary: Will there ever come a day when I truly understand Kokichi? I'm not sure. I reach out to him, yet he doesn't take my hand. But in his own way, maybe that helps me understand him a little better.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 46





	Understanding A Liar

**Author's Note:**

> I’m actually really proud of this work because it took a shit ton of time when I wrote it- please enjoy <3

Finding myself alone with my thoughts I sighed holding back a frustrated scream. If I screamed into one of my pillows would anyone hear? More importantly, would anyone care? Kaede was gone. The only person that I’d found solitude in was gone. I wanted to give up. Lock myself in my room forever. No!

I forced myself up into a sitting position and slapped both of my cheeks. “You’re being ridiculous Shuichi,” I mumbled to myself. “Do it for Kaede.” I had to get everyone out of here. For her sake. Jumping off my bed with a newfound determination my eyes trailed to my hat. Everyone had seen me without it this morning but leaving without it still felt odd.

Anyhow, I stepped out of my dorm room looking for someone to talk to. Just to get my mind off things. Locking my door, a familiar voice made me jump. “Shuichi, talk to me!” He wrapped his arm around mine spinning me to face him.

“What is it Kokichi?”

“No one wants to talk and I figured you’re pretty lonely these days.” He smiled his deceiving smile, referring to Kaede.

“Actually-” I tried to come up with an excuse but was interrupted.

“I can tell when you lie Shuichi…” Kokichi tapped his cheek, the mischievous smirk remaining on his lips. Emitting a long sigh I followed Kokichi to the courtyard. He seemed eerily happy despite our circumstances. Coming to an abrupt halt in front of me I stumbled forward bumping into the smaller boy. “How rude…” He whipped around furrowing his brows up at me.

“Sorry.” I apologized trying to keep eye contact.

“I’m not really mad, silly.” He giggled his brows softening. “You’re pretty reckless, bumping into an Ultimate Supreme Leader?”

“So you say. But does your title really mean anything?” I playfully crossed my arms, a smirk contorting my smile. “What kind of organization do you run?”

Kokichi hummed unfazed by my change in demeanor. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m the supreme leader of an evil organization.”

Thinking back to when we first met I nodded. “Yeah, you’ve said so before but…”

Kokichi jumped in interrupting me as if he’d remembered something. “It’s pretty impressive. It has over ten thousand members!”

“You said that too. But I can’t think of any organization that fits that description.” Kokichi’s laid back demeanor changed at my words, his grin becoming deceiving.

“Well, I am a liar.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that,” I mumbled, questions of why he had a reason to lie filling my mind.

“But I’m telling the truth when I say I’m the supreme leader of a secret evil organization.” He grinned his smirk disappearing once again. Talking to Kokichi makes me feel unstable like I forget how words work. “My organization controls the world but it’s all behind the scenes. All the world’s mafia syndicates are under my command.” He pursued his lips and fiddled with his checkered bandanna as if this was the most casual thing to talk about.

I opened my mouth to speak but Kokichi continued. “They’ll all get into turf wars if I don’t control them. That’s just trouble for everyone.” He sighed, slapping his forehead with his palm. “It’s such a pain, especially since peace is the best thing for the world.” I’m still not sure if I should believe him.

“That’s why I do the same thing with the government! I control politicians with blackmail, I manipulate the stock market on a whim. I have subordinates all over the world. The White House, Kremlin, Beijing, Wall Street, London...even the Tokyo stock exchange.” His excitement grew with each word. “I make one call and the world changes, so let me know if you get bored with the world.”

Not speaking a word I raised an eyebrow. That has to be a lie. “You shouldn’t think like that Shuichi.” Kokichi grinned reading me easily.

“What?!” I exclaimed. There’s no way he knew what I was thinking.

“That has to be a lie?” He quoted my exact thoughts, a giggle following at my expression. “I knew it! Wow! I can actually read minds! Just kidding, It was obvious what you were thinking. You’re gonna die from stress if you keep thinking like that, Shuichi.” I sighed exhausted by his nature. “So now that you know about my organization, Shuichi...you must die!”

“What?!” Now that’s unfair. “You told me, I didn’t even ask.”

“Oh, yeah! Oopsie poopsie, I’m such a ditz!” He cocked his head to the side smiling up at me. “Then I’ll let you live for now since I messed up. But I’ll kill you eventually.”

“Are you...serious?” I questioned. He is a liar after all.

“Yeah for realsies! I hate lies and jokes!” Pausing with a serious look he laughed again. “Just kidding, I lied.” With a smile, Kokichi poked my chest and glanced down at his wrist. “Gotta bounce! I’ve got something to take care of.” With a wave, Kokichi sprinted off towards the school. That idiot doesn’t even have a watch…

Exhausted I returned to my dorm room for a nap. He said he would kill me but he has to be lying, right? The next time I talked to Kokichi came about an hour later.

I wandered around the school aimlessly, trying to clear my mind yet again. During my nap, I had a nightmare. One that brought back memories of Kaede and Rantaro. I shivered remembering Kaede’s brutal execution, starting to feel sick to my stomach.

Little did I know as I wandered the basement a certain pair of violet eyes were watching me. Waiting for the right moment to strike and that so happened to be when I passed the gaming room. A hand reached out before I could react and tugged me into the neon room.

“You look lost.” Kokichi winked, clapping his hands together.

“Lost? I was-”

“Looking for me?!” Kokichi pretended to be taken aback stepping away from me dramatically. “What are you here for now? Did you come to beg for your life?”

Shaking my head in pure disbelief I mumbled the question I’d been meaning to ask him. “Are you serious about killing me?”

“Huh?” He prodded acting as if I was too quiet. “Speak up Saihara-chan.”

Rolling my eyes I stepped closer to him and spoke more clearly. “Are you serious...about killing me?” My voice faltered at his intense gaze. 

“Obviously,” Kokich responded, taking less than a millisecond to think about it. “I’m the Ultimate Supreme Leader after all. I swore on my title that I would protect my organization. That’s why you gotta die.” No matter how hard I try to understand him, I can never tell if he’s serious or not. “Well,” Kokichi stared at me impatiently. “Do it already! Get on the ground and beg like a dog!”

An aura of dominance I’d never felt from Kokichi before made my heart stutter in my chest. I gulped backing away as Kokichi took another step towards me. He grinned drinking in the expression on my face. “Ooooh, I wanna see you slit your stomach. C’mon! Do it! Pwetty pwease!?” He clasped his hands together.

“If I did that, I would die.” I snapped back at his childishness.

Kokichi hummed, a frown taking over his features. “Psh, guess I couldn’t trick you. Boooring.” He rolled his eyes then tapped his chin. “How about this...if you wanna live, you gotta beat me in a game!”

“A game?” I cocked my head scanning the gaming machines around us.

“Not one of those games.” Kokichi grabbed my chin, turning my head so I was facing him again. “It’s not like I’m giving you a choice, but this is your chance to survive.”

Without thinking my mouth moved on its own. “I accept.”

Kokichi’s eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. “That was quick. I didn’t see that one coming.” Heat crawled up my neck at his suggestive gaze on me. “Veeery intriguing, Shuichi! Keep it interesting for me, kay?” Holding back a nod I watched as Kokichi pulled out a deck of cards. Where did he get those from? “We’re gonna play a Shadow Game. It’s time to du-du-du-duel!”

“A duel?” I shouldn’t be concerned but a duel could mean anything with Kokichi. “Shadow Game?”

“Yes, the loser’s soul will get sent to the Shadow Realm. We each pull a card from this deck.” He waved his deck of cards in front of me and pulled out a card. “Whoever has the largest number wins.”

“The power of the Heart of the Cards is strong within me.” Kokichi flipped the card in his hands, a smirk forming on his face. “I drew a seven. It’s neither high nor low! The possibility of you winning drops to fifty percent.” Kokichi seems to be in an odd mood today. Playful as usual but his demeanor seems different. Is it just my mind playing tricks on me? “I end my turn. Now, it’s your turn! Draw your card, and unleash your attack!”

“Okay…” Hesitantly, I reached out drawing a card from the deck. “A seven.”

“Wh-what!?” Kokichi’s eyes grew wide as he leaned closer to me to check my number. “You drew the Monster Reborn card!?” His wonder faded quickly and he laughed his usual laugh. “You truly are an amazing duelist, Shuichi. You aimed for a tie instead...You intrigue me.” It’s not like I tried to get a tie. I brushed it off as luck. “This is the end for you!” Kokichi took the card from my hand and shoved the deck in his pocket. “I said I’d let you live only if you beat me! You only have three events left in your life, so you better entertain me until then!” He giggled and ruffled my hair.

Three events? What three events? Kokichi sidestepped around me to exit the gaming room with a grin leaving me more confused than before. I touched my head still feeling the warmth of Kokichi’s hand. I’m being ridiculous. After a couple of minutes, I headed back to my room. Oh, Kokichi are you just toying with me?”

Kokichi didn’t bother me for days after we played cards and subconsciously I found myself missing his company. Sure, he was condescending and a jerk at times but there was something about him that endeared me. Like the more, we talked the better I could read him. Slowly, I was tearing down his walls getting to see the Kokichi behind his title.

The next murder hit us like a ton of bricks. No one expected it. Not that we *ever* expected murder. The trial left us sad as usual. After all, we’d lost another one of our friends. Even then, after we’d processed Kirumi’s execution Kokichi revealed something more shocking. The Maki we thought we knew had been lying to us the whole time.

Instead of the Ultimate Child Caregiver, she was the Ultimate Assassin. When Kokichi had brought it up in his joking manner Maki was as fast as lightning seizing the boy in a chokehold. Being taller than him gave her an upper hand she was so strong his legs dangled limp in the air. Despite his position, his demeanor didn’t change he threatened her telling her to kill him. ‘But of course, that wasn’t her style’ he’d said. Instantly she’d let go and stormed off.

Lying in my bed after the trial I found myself unable to sleep. Maki was an assassin and two of our friends were dead. What else to think about than that. I desperately searched for a different, more calming subject. Biting my lip, Kokichi came to mind. Calming? He wasn’t calming in the slightest. Yet, thinking of him lulled me to sleep.

The next day was quiet. All of us were divided. Un-sure if Maki could be trusted. I wandered around like usual figuring a visit to the pool wouldn’t be half bad. I’ve never used it before so why not? Kicking off my shoes as I stepped into the building I began to unbutton my shirt. I don’t have swimming shorts so boxers are my only choice. They’re pretty baggy so it should be fine. I tugged my pants down and tossed them on top of my shirt.

Wearing nothing but my boxers I stepped down the stairs. If the pool is so low, how am I supposed to climb out? “Shuichi, what are you doing?” A chuckle from the entrance stopped me from jumping into the pool. I glanced behind myself seeing no one other than the person I’d happened to dream about last night. Kokichi looked me up and down causing my face to instinctively heat up. I crossed my arms across my bare chest suddenly feeling cold and exposed. Kokichi crossed the room silently a skip in his step and poked me in the stomach. “You’re so skinny.”

“Huh?” I was taken aback by his laid back attitude. Warmth filled me with his delicate touch on my belly but before I could say anything else Kokichi backed away and pulled off his shoes. “Kokichi, are we going to play another game today?” I found myself asking as I watched him undress.

“Why don’t we swim today? You seemed like you were going to anyway.” He wiggled out of his pants leaving him in nothing but his boxers as well. Uncharacteristic to his personality they were red with bright orange stripes. Noticing my wandering eyes he placed his hands on his hips and leaned teasingly to the side. “Like what you see?” He winked joining me on the stairwell.

“You’re one to call me skinny,” I muttered raking my eyes over his tiny stature. Kokichi grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

“Are you gonna get in?” Jumping off the stairs he plummeted into the water.

“Kokichi!” I reached a hand out after him tripping over my foot in the process. I fell downwards, my body hitting the water with a smack. Popping up from the water I pushed my wet hair away from my eyes. Kokichi’s laughter was all I heard as I blinked away the blurriness from the water.

“Nice going, Shuichi.” He swam over to me and splashed my face. His hair looked so long when it was wet.

I giggled enjoying the moment of peacefulness. “This is nice.” I sighed blissfully collapsing into a back float.

“This *is* pleasant.” Kokichi agreed with me flopping into a back float beside me. “I feel like my soul is coming back to my body!” I hummed in response standing up again. Kokichi followed clapping his hands in the water for fun. “My organization requires everyone to have an afternoon break. It increases productivity.”

I splashed some water at the smiling boy, my lips turning up. “That sounds rather peaceful.” For an evil organization, an afternoon break seems normal.

“Yep.” He giggled ducking away from my splash attack. “The supreme leader…” He cleared his throat pointing a slender finger at himself. “Is a pacifist. That’s why I settle fights with games.” Kokichi looped a stray hair around his finger. “By the way, everyone who lost to me should be working hard in Siberia right now.” I raised a brow sinking lower into the water. Siberia? “If they’re alive!”

If they’re alive?!

“Don’t worry, Shuichi.” Kokichi drug my hand out of the pool water giving it a squeeze. “You’ll be in heaven rather than Siberia.” How could he say such threatening things with a smile? 

“I’d prefer to be alive.” I didn’t question his hold on my hand leaving it be for the time being.

“Then how about you join my organization? If you were a member, there’d be no problem. You’re a pretty interesting guy, so I think joining might be good for you.” I paid no mind to the way Kokichi laced his fingers with mine and the way my stomach knotted at his expression. The cool water only made the burning blush on my skin more torturous.

“I’m gonna have to decline.” I avoided eye contact with the smaller boy, looking anywhere but his face. I was afraid if I did he’d be able to tell how I was feeling at that moment.

“Whaaaat?” Kokichi drew out, dropping my hand. I clenched it into a fist wanting to preserve the warmth he'd left. “I thought you wanted to live, Shuichi!”

“I do!” I pushed a stray hair out of my face. “But I could never join such a nefarious organization.”

He laughed, placing his arms behind his head. “I guess that’s true! But it’s sorta disappointing. If someone like you joined I’d never get bored.” Ignoring his final comment the two of us swam around for about an hour chatting about random things. “I think I’m gonna head out.” He muttered stepping over to the stairs. Turning back with a smirk that made my heart flutter he asked. “Are you sure it was okay to waste this event without playing a game?”

“What?” I swam over to him.

“Now there’s one less chance for you to survive, y’ know? I already told you that you only have three events left but you seem pretty relaxed.” He jumped up latching onto the stairwell and hauled himself out of the pool. I followed with ease.

“But you’re the one that said we should swim instead.”

“So you’re blaming me? Sure…” He shook his head around trying to dry his damp hair. The strands of hair that usually stuck out of his head were softly curled. He grabbed the waistband of his underwear snapping it against his skin. “Now my undies are wet... how am I supposed to get dressed.” He sighed. “Well, I could hang them out to dry.” He reached down to his waistband about to tug them down.

I averted my gaze, my breath quickening at his suggestion. “Kokichi I don’t think that’s-”

“Just kidding!” I turned back to him as he stuck out his tongue. “Ya’ pervert.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Sure, sure. You always put the blame on me.” Kokichi wiggled around trying to dry off while I kept my eyes off him. With wet underwear, the outline of him was blatantly obvious. I clenched my jaw trying to think of other, more appropriate things. Since when did I start thinking of him like this?

Once confirming he was dry enough Kokichi tugged on his clothes and left, his cheeky laughter echoing off the tile. I tried to shake the heat off myself as I redressed. Now is not the time to be thinking things like that.

The next day I was the one looking for Kokichi. Kaito wanted to hang out but I declined making up an excuse. Right outside of the dorms sitting at one of the picnic tables on the plaza was the boy I was looking for. I slid into the seat next to him. He jumped in surprise turning to face me. “Hey, Shuichi! You scared me.”

“Sorry,” I apologized, tapping him with my foot under the table.

He smiled genuinely kicking his right leg over the bench so his whole body was facing me. “Let’s have a proper battle today! How about we play a game called the Burning Apology?”

“Burning Apology?” I copied his movement kicking my left leg over the bench.

“Yep!” He nodded. “Beg me not to kill you, while kneeling on a burning hot metal plate! If you really wanna live, I know you can do it!”

“I’m pretty sure I would die if I did that. That doesn’t really sound like a ‘game’.”

“You figured it out.” Kokichi pouted, tracing his finger along the lines of the table.

“Of course!” I mumbled. I’m not stupid. In a way, it felt like he was prolonging our conversation.

“Then, how about the Steel Beam Walk?”

“What’s that?”

“You walk across a thin steel beam and make it to the end without falling! Then you win!” He smiled poking both of his cheeks.

“That sounds easy.”

“Oh, yeah! The beam is placed between two buildings. There’s also electricity involved.”

Where would we even do this? “You plan on crossing as well?”

“Well, duh! I’m pretty confident when it comes to balancing.” I pursued my lips. Kokichi walking across a thin beam seemed like a recipe for disaster. “But that’s a lie! So no! I won’t go!” I sighed, throwing my head back. He sure is putting a lot of effort into messing with me. Though, even I could tell he was lying. Kokichi hummed, tapping his lip. “Is there something else we can do? I want a game of life-or-death.”

Realizing an odd fact to these games I tilted my head down to face him. “Kokichi, these challenges… The idea is that if I win, I don’t die, correct?”

He scooched closer to me and looked up at me. “Yuppers. And?” Not bothering to scoot back I leaned closer to him. My heart fluttered at the feeling of his breath on my neck.

“Then why are we *both* risking our lives?”

“Who cares? We’re gonna die anyway someday. It just changes the timing a ‘Lil. I’m the supreme leader of evil! I’m used to risking my life!” Kokichi seemed unfazed by how close we were. Am I the only one feeling this way?

“But you don’t do any steel beam walking.”

He giggled cutely. “Of course, that was a lie!” I’m used to it. “How about we play rock paper scissors instead?” He scooched back holding his hand up.

“Isn’t that based on luck?”

“That’s why it’s fun! Good luck surviving!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!” We chanted in unison both throwing down ‘rock’.

“The same…” I muttered.

“I see. Again.” Kokichi shrugged it off. We went again, throwing down the same thing. “How long will you prolong your life, Shuichi?”

We went again, and again, again. “The same again.” I sighed at what seemed like the hundredth time.

Kokichi groaned. “I’m bored now! This is like the gazillionth time we tied! Shuichi, please just finish it up!”

“There’s not really anything I can do…” It’s not like I’m doing this on purpose!

“Fine, then we’re done for today. Congrats, Shuichi. You’re still alive.” I frowned, not wanting to end my time with Kokichi. Despite the fact we’d been doing nothing but rock, paper, scissors, I enjoyed his company. “By the way, did you know there’s a way to throw the same thing on purpose in rock, paper, scissors?”

“Huh?” Now that shocked me. He was trying to win. Why would he purposefully tie with me over and over again? He giggled.

“You only have two events left. I hate lies and jokes. But I’m lying. You just have good luck, Shuichi.” We got the same thing about a hundred times there’s no way that’s just luck. “Maybe your detective's intuition is getting more precise. Well, you are the Ultimate Detective after all.” He pushed himself up from the table, his smile showing no signs of ill will. “The next time we meet will be your last. Enjoy the little time you have left!”

So everything would be over the next time we chatted? Somehow I doubt that.

Again, I found myself searching for Kokichi later that day. I didn’t want to die but deep down I knew he was never looking to kill me anyway. Peeking into Kirumi’s old lab I found him twirling something in his hand. 

He turned at the creak of the door. “Shuichi!” He grinned standing up from the chair and hiding the object behind his back. “I’m glad you came! This is your last chance, okay?” He’s just as happy as usual. I can never tell when he’s being serious or toying with me? “It’s time for the final game! It’s this!” He whipped a knife out from behind his back and tapped its point against his finger. “Ta-da!”

“A knife!” I stepped towards him wanting to confiscate it but he held it away from me. “What are you-?”

“Don’t get so antsy. Don’t worry, it’s only for the game. You know what the knife game is, right?” Clueless as always, I didn’t. Smirking in response to my silence Kokichi placed his hand palm down on the table and sat down. “Place your palm down on the table like this, spread your fingers and stab between them.”

“That’s so dangerous!” I bit my lip anxiety bubbling up in my chest.

“This is fitting for the final game isn’t it?”

“What if we get hurt?”

“What are you talking about? Shuichi, if you lose you’ll be beyond just injured, y’ know? You’ll be dead.” He gazed up me, his violet eyes speaking volumes. He lifted the knife and fixated his gaze on his hand. He’d become oddly serious. “I’ll make the first move.” He gently spread his fingers and took a deep breath. I’ve never seen him so serious. Is this what the Ultimate Supreme Leader looks like? I could feel his gaze on me from the corner of his eyes. “I’m ready!”

And with that, he set off. The knife stabbed into the table missing his fingers by mere centimeters. His movement was fast and precise. The sound of flesh snapped me out of my trance as I realized Kokichi had cut his finger.

“Ow!” He cried out dropping the knife.

“Kokichi?!” I sprung up from my chair next to him grabbing him by the wrist. “You don’t have to keep going, stop! Just stay still, I’ll get it.” I found a first aid kit and clumsily wrapped the small boy’s hand. All while he laughed quietly to himself. Finishing wrapping his hand I released it. “I think that’s good. What do you think?”

He scanned his hand twisting it around. “Yeah. It wasn’t too deep, so that’ll do.” He dropped his hand, his face flushing slightly. “Thanks for treating my injury, Shuichi.” After a second of silence, as quickly as it had come, the color drained from his cheeks. “Aw maaan, I lost! Congrats Shuichi! You win!”

“But I haven’t done it yet. I’m still the winner?”

“Well, I messed up. So yeah. You win by default. Plus I already fulfilled my objective.”

“Objective…?” I trailed off wasn’t it to kill me?

He smiled. “To kill you, Shuichi!”

“But I’m alive.”

He leaned in towards me a smirk replacing his smile. “But I made your heart *die* with worry, didn’t I?”

My heart jumped in my chest. All he wanted to do was make me worry about him? “What do you mean…?”

“After I said I’d kill you, I was on your mind the whoooole time, right?” He grabbed my wrists squeezing them between his hands in excitement. “You thought about whether or not I was serious, or why I would say something confusing. Even now you’re concerned about me from the bottom of your heart.” I dropped my gaze to his hand. He giggled squeezing me even tighter. “Now you’ll never *ever* forget me for the rest of your life!” Without warning, he jumped up from his seat throwing his arms around my neck. “I stole your heart, so now I’m satisfied! I don’t need to steal your life anymore.”

I tapped his arm and pulled him away so I could look him in the eye. “Kokichi, If you wanted my attention, you could have just asked.”

“Huh?” Kokichi questioned. For once he was more confused than me. Letting my body move on its own I pulled Kokichi down to my level and pressed my lips against his. Sometimes following your heart is the best thing to do. He gasped surprised by my bold behavior but kissed back.

Grip still on his arms I could feel him shake with anticipation. To feel him shake under my touch is a feeling of control I'll never forget. The soft breaths that came from his nose made my heart melt. All this time he’d been feeling the same way as me. Being the first to pull away I pinched Kokichi’s cheek.

“Ow!” He giggled, swatting my hand away.

“That’s what you get for tricking me. I’ve been thinking this has been one-sided the whole time!”

Kokichi faked a pout. “Oh, poor Shuichi-chan has a crush on me.”

I blushed, dropping my head onto Kokichi’s chest in embarrassment. “Don’t say it like that,” I mumbled. “You have a crush on me too.” I lifted my head quick enough to catch Kokichi grin goofily, his face growing red.

Will there ever come a day when I truly understand Kokichi? I'm not sure. I reach out to him, yet he doesn't take my hand. But in his own way, maybe that helps me understand him a little better.

This idiot has me wrapped around his finger. Just like the bandage I’d wrapped around his cut. Clinging onto his waist that day, I realized I didn’t want to let go. He’d stolen my heart so that meant I was stuck with him. Not that I minded.


End file.
